Cope, 1877Dystrophaeus is the name given to an extinct of from the early stage of the Late that existed around 154.8 Ma. Its fossils were found in the Tidwell Member of the of Utah. Its estimated mass is 12 tonnes (13 short tons).The, D. Viaemalae, was described by in 1877. The genus name means 'coarse joint' from Greek dys, 'bad', and stropheus, 'joint', a reference to the pitted joint surfaces serving as an attachment for.
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Invertebrate, any animal that lacks a vertebral column, or backbone, in contrast to the cartilaginous or bony vertebrates. Apart from the absence of a vertebral column, invertebrates have little in common. More than 90 percent of all living animal species are invertebrates.
The reads as viae malae, 'of the bad road', a reference to the various arduous routes taken to find, reach and salvage the remains. It consists of one partial skeleton, the USNM 2364, which includes a 76 centimetre long, a, a partial, and some discovered in August 1859. It was found in what is possibly stratigraphic zone 1 of the Morrison, although an older - has also been suggested. Dystrophaeus represents one of the oldest discoveries of sauropods in America; earlier, in 1855, some teeth had been found of.The classification of Dystrophaeus has been rather confusing.
Cope in 1877 merely concluded it was some Triassic dinosaur. In 1882 understood it was a sauropod, assigning it to the. However, in 1895 stated it belonged to the., the first to determine it was of Jurassic age, in 1904 created a special family for it, the, which he assumed to be herbivorous. Only in 1908 von Huene realised his mistake and classified it in the sauropod, refining this in 1927 to the. In 1966 put it in the, in a subfamily.More recently, an analysis by concluded it was a member of the. Another recent review, by Tschopp and colleagues in 2015, suggest it is a member of the. However, many researchers consider the taxon to be a.
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Newer finds of Dystrophaeus have led paleontologist and artist to suggest it was most closely related to sauropods, once again putting it closer to.References.
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